Midwest Connections & Icons

Midwest Connections & Icons

Labor Day 2016

Tues., 8/30:

          Early in the summer John Delamater, my dissertation advisor at Wisconsin, sent a “save the date” e-mail about his upcoming retirement and dinner to mark the occasion. We initially sent regrets that we would not be able to attend. But John’s reply  ̶  noting that I had been only his 3^rd doctoral student (we both arrived at UW in 1969) and one of his most accomplished (very nice of him to say!)  ̶  made me feel quite the ungrateful wretch. Plus: John has been a good friend as long as Marjorie and I have been married; and he seemed somewhat at odds about retiring, maybe needing some counseling from a social gerontologist who has been retired now for a year. So we refigured our schedule, cashed in United flyer miles, and arranged to combine John’s bash with visits to family & friends.

          We decided to begin our Labor Day travels with a repeat visit to Minneapolis with nephew Andy, wife Staci, and adorable children Abigail and Henry (we were there last summer). Staci, Activities Director par excellence, busily suggested a number of interesting things to do. Also arranged to stay with good friend Kay in Madison, a visit with M’s brother Joe and sister-in-law Karen in Portage, and a couple of days down to Springfield IL with her cousin Jim and wife Susan, plus touching base with other friends in Portage and Madison. So this has become a very nice way to end the summer. And the retired professor doesn’t have to fuss about the start of classes!

A beautiful sunny day to begin our trip. We leave our car at the airport employee parking lot (Marjorie works part-time in the airport museum gift shop “Departures”). M chats up the United agent, scores seats with more legroom. Her vetting to work in the shop also garners expedited TSA precheck, then priority boarding thanks to our United Explorer card. Departure an hour late due to “control” issues. 

An unusually scenic flight: view over the Mohawk at take-off, pretty views later flying between cloud layers, Chicago skyscrapers sticking up from low clouds hiding the city as we descend. In-flight United magazine cites Jackson Heights, where Matt & family live, as “one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the country” with 167 languages spoken! Easy to our connecting flight, a little early into MSP, met by Staci, Abigail, & Henry. 

To home, greeted by goldendoodle Dasher, now past puppyhood of a year ago. After tasty lunch of BLTs (our 1st of the summer!) & corn-on-the-cob, then joined by Staci’s Mom Linda. Andy stays home with the kids while we do a house tour outing. 

A view of the St. Paul skyline, other beautiful houses as we drive to James J. Hill House, home of a RR tycoon. Was the largest house in MN in 1891: 36,000 sq feet on 5 floors, 13 bathrooms, 22 fireplaces, 16 crystal chandeliers . . . Across from the pretty Cathedral of Saint Paul, National Shrine of the Apostle Paul. Staci has reserved spots in a “Nooks and Crannies” tour to see things not part of the usual tours (similar to a servants tour we did in one of the Newport “cottages”). 

A very interesting tour, guide with a humorous touch. Choir director Charles would love the 1000+-pipe organ. Beautiful staircase w/ stained-glass windows. Attic w/ wood-paneled playroom & stage. Terraces look out over the city; and the house looms (as intended) over the city below. Very plain servant quarters. 

As night falls the dimly-lit shadowy staircases & hallways become kinda’ spooky. Pretty lighting on the house & cathedral when we leave the tour. Back home for ice cream with Andy. 

Wed., 8/31:

I'm up early with Andy, Abigail, Henry, & Dasher. Andy has a busy day ahead: off to his work as a Marketing Director at Best Buy, to the State Fair for annual scavenger hunt with his marketing staff, then meeting & dinner with people from Microsoft. We had hoped to see a special Relay for Life installation at the Mall of America, with many stars (including one from Marjorie) celebrating Hope in fighting cancer, but it was taken down too soon. Instead the rest of us are off for a wonderful outing on a perfect summer day: sunny, mid- to high-70s (weather that will continue into the weekend). Past not-to-bad traffic for the nearby State Fair to Como Park. 

A great full day all in one place, with free admission!: beautiful flowered grounds & water gardens, conservatories with luxuriant ferns, Japanese garden & bonsai trees,

fabulous butterfly enclosure (my green “Mr. Whippy” t-shirt seems to be very attractive), 

manageable zoo with giraffes, zebras, penguins, etc. 

A good lunch at Zabota Café (CHECK). We pass on the amusement park except for the colorful “best carousel” (says M). A pretty drive to & fro: Minneapolis skyline, pretty building murals. 

Late PM Staci takes Abigail & Henry to open houses for their school/preschool. We try without success to arrange a get-together with friend Bill K. On our own to relax, play with Dasher. Staci returns and shows us a new meatball/pasta variation for dinner.

Thurs., 9/1:

Another gorgeous day for us, while Tropical Storm (soon to be Hurricane) Hermine is heading for Florida. Abigail & Henry are spies with their walkie-talkies (I’m sworn to secrecy, but now the story can be told!). Then it’s off to Mia (Minneapolis Institute of Art). A special show on landscapes, “Seeing Nature,” featuring Monet (whose Giverny garden we’ll visit next June), Hopper, O’Keeffe, etc. 

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And other exhibits in the very large & diverse collection: rotunda with meteorites floating on the ceiling, Venice film enjoyed by Henry, scavenger hunt, works by Chihuly, Calder, Frank Lloyd Wright. 

There’s even a panoramic city skyline view. A good time is had by all! 

Lunch at Shamrocks, touted by Food Network’s Guy Fieri (“Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives”). I experience a “Juicy Nookie Burger,” their version of local icon “Juicy Lucy;” melted cheese inside a burger. I receive instructions from both Staci and the waitress on the proper way to eat it without dribbling hot cheese: small bites interrupted by French fries. A delightfully messy many-napkin meal. Back home, Marjorie has some bead fun with Abigail & Henry, then out with Staci looking in garden shops (unsuccessfully) for a rooster for M’s garden like those in the yard here. 

The day closes with a belated family birthday party, catching up on missed birthdays with presents for everyone plus cookie cake by M.

Fri., 9/2:

Up early to pick up our Enterprise rental car. We start with a little Fiat, but some transmission issue has us stuck in 1st-gear! We return to switch to a Dodge Dart. Across the Mississippi, onto I-94 into Wisconsin. Many miles of bucolic scenery: farms & state forests. Labor Day traffic not bad, tho it’s building up heading into the touristy Dells. 

Thru Marjorie’s hometown Portage, past her childhood home (looking well-kept, colorful play equipment in back), to Culver’s for lunch with old friends Nancy & Ellen; seeing Ellen is a happy surprise, she’s just returned from 2 years with the Peace Corps in Moldova. A good time catching up! (A lot of that on this trip.) This is home to another food icon that seems to be unknown in our Northeast: “turtle sundaes” (hot caramel & fudge w/ toasted pecans). M & I share one.

On the way out of town a stop to view the Wisconsin R. from the levee. A pretty ride on Rt. 51 to Madison, past another Midwest icon Piggly Wiggly, many corn fields, pretty silver-topped grasses. To East Towne, dinner at Olive Garden with M’s brother Joe & sister-in-law Karen. More catching up with family. On to friend Kay’s lovely apartment on the west side.

Sat., 9/3:

I’m awake early, work a bit more on my remarks (brief) for tonight. A relaxing AM with Kay. She gives me a tour of the beautiful grounds & facilities: pool, fitness center, even a putting green! We drive into Madison, one of our favorite cities, thinking how it still feels so familiar; Marjorie would love to move back here if Matt & family weren’t in Queens. And there are even welcoming “RUSS” signs around town (tho for a candidate, not me, I learn). We park by a “Little Free Library” box (leave 1, take 1) near Barreques, a pleasant coffee/wine bar on a pretty street w/ nice shops. Friends Nancy & Andy join us; more catching up. I miss the Zen of my fishing outings with Andy. We swing up to where we used to live on Sheboygan Ave., and nearby little Hilldale Shopping Center is now a scary mega-mall! 

I take M to Kay’s, then stroll some around campus: up Bascom Hill and iconic view down State St. to the Capitol, over to the now William H. Sewell (after one of my old profs) Social Sciences Bldg, along the Union Terrace overlooking the lakeshore. It’s quite busy with students (and families) in town before classes start next week. Back at Kay’s we watch some of the UW/LSU football game in Green Bay (the 1st UW game in Wisconsin outside Madison since 1905!).

Tonight’s the main event that triggered this trip. Back into Madison, bars full of folks watching the game (and the Badgers win, a big upset!  ̶  there will be partying tonight!). 

John’s retirement bash is in Alumni Lounge of the Pyle Center, with a bank of windows looking out on L. Mendota. A very filling Italian buffet. A beautiful sunset, people by the Union lined up sitting on piers jutting into the lake. There are 8-9 speakers: colleagues, former students like me, a concluding champagne toast by daughter Elizabeth (a percussionist like our Matt). 

As a gerontologist, I offer some light-hearted guidance on retirement, finishing with some observations on aging from George Carlin (a babyboomer icon). Marjorie also offers advice to John’s wife Janet on avoiding the “husband underfoot” syndrome. Dessert follows, including to Marjorie’s dismay ice cream that doesn’t some from the UW’s Babcock Hall! John offers his own remarks, including things about his very difficult youth (which nobody seemed to know) framed around the importance of “agency” and “opportunity;” a fitting & thoughtful way to complete an academic retirement event.

Sun., 9/4:

A few more clouds today, temps to 85. Familiar drive out of town: around the Beltline past Fish Hatchery Rd. The drive to Springfield IL is very flat, lots of corn & soybean fields (cousin Jim’s iconic statement: “If it ain’t corn, it’s soybeans”), some very large wind farms. And bugs on the windshield, something we don’t seem to see much of in NY. Breakfast stop at friendly Sunrise Restaurant. After much fussin’ Marjorie figures out how to create photo albums on her phone. 

 To Jim & Susan’s, with another happy coincidence: their son Jamie, wife Jennie, children Rose, Lilly, & Beau are here for the holiday weekend. Plus host Lab Fanny & visitor Ruby, a sweet little rescue dog who enjoys our laps (Fanny's also sweet, but too old & big for laps). Over to the Illini Club for soup & iced tea while the kids enjoy the pool. Jim & Jamie go dove hunting. Marjorie joins Jennie and the children for games: Hedbanz (a guessing game) and Story Cubes. The guys return from a successful hunt that they make into very tasty rumaki appetizer before a dinner feast of filet, corn on the cob, etc.

Mon., 9/5: 

        Jim & Jamie up and out early for more hunting. Headed into the 90s today, more typical for Springfield. A quiet AM hangin’ out. Jamie and family head home after lunch. Marjorie & Susan do some shopping. Jim & I watch some of “Caddyshack” (with the iconic golf mantra: “be the ball”), plus some golf & baseball. I start working on this journal. So, nothing strenuous on a hot day. After tasty brisket sandwiches for dinner, some of us fall asleep watching Episode 1 of "Foyle's War" (we'll catch up at home).

Tues., 9/6:

Jim & Susan off to work. Steamy, to 90s again, severe t-storms in Minneapolis  ̶  we've been very fortunate with our weather. We drive back north to Madison. Still flat in Illinois. Many Christian & country radio stations, pro-gun signs along the highway from gunssavelife.com. Hawks circling overhead. "Searching for Sophie": a large billboard for a veteran’s lost dog. Lunch at a Culver's; no turtle sundae this time, but I continue sampling iconic foods with the “original Butterburger.” Marjorie takes the last driving leg with, of course, lots of trucks and road work! Back to Kay's. In the local news: a familiar name, Paul Soglin, past & present mayor, was an activist 45 years ago when we lived here. For dinner we select from the diverse take-out options at Metcalfe's grocery. Then M & I out to visit friends Annie (herself something of an iconic Madison presence) & Mark. Yummy treats at a neighborhood ice cream shop.

Wed., 9/7:

Heavy rain & thunder early AM. Just enough time for free breakfast provided by the apartment complex with Kay and "the ladies" before returning our car and getting to the airport. It’s very quiet; but M has (grudgingly) put up with my need to be at airports plenty early. A last iconic view: an array of diverse “cheeseheads” in a shop. The weather seems to be clearing some, on-time for the short bumpy flight to O’Hare. But delays due to weather issues around Chicago make us about an hour late to Albany. Nonetheless I’m able to make it to my Mendelssohn Club rehearsal; had to miss the 1^st rehearsal last week, but friend/tenor Don picked up my music.

A delightful trip. Good times catching up with family & friends. Lots of Midwestern iconic experiences, from “Juicy Lucy” to “turtle sundaes.” Thanks to John for providing the stimulus.